Cutting tool

ABSTRACT

A motor housing of housings forming an outer casing of a tool main body is provided with two battery attachment portions allowing attachment of rechargeable batteries. The two battery attachment portions are configured as slide attachment type battery attachment portions. The two battery attachment portions are suited to slide attachment type rechargeable batteries that are attached through sliding. The two rechargeable batteries are attached in the right-left direction of the tool main body so that the two rechargeable batteries can be arranged side by side in the direction in which the tool main body extends.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 14/764,668 filed Jul. 30,2015, which is a National Stage of International Patent Application No.PCT/JP2013/084842 filed Dec. 26, 2013, which claims the benefit ofJapanese Patent Application No. 2013-018895 filed Feb. 1, 2013. Thedisclosure of the prior applications is hereby incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a cutting tool thatmay be configured to reciprocate an elongated cutting blade for cuttinga workpiece.

BACKGROUND ART

As a cutting tool for cutting a workpiece such as wood, there has beenknown a cutting tool called a reciprocating saw (see, for example,Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-51046). This type ofreciprocating saw is configured as a hand-held type cutting tool forperforming a cutting operation while being held by hand. In brief, thistype of reciprocating saw is provided with a housing, an electric motorhoused in the housing, and a reciprocation converting mechanism thatconverts the rotational drive force of the electric motor to areciprocating motion.

A cutting blade mounting mechanism is provided at the output shaft ofthe reciprocation converting mechanism. Mounted to this cutting bladeretaining mechanism is an elongated blade (cutting blade) extending inthe reciprocating direction. In this cutting tool, the rotational driveforce generated by the electric motor is converted to a reciprocatingmotion by the reciprocation converting mechanism, so that the blademounted to the cutting blade mounting mechanism at the front endreciprocates. The blade thus reciprocating may cut the workpiece to becut.

On the other hand, regarding the above-described reciprocating saw,there has been a demand for an increase in the voltage of the electricpower supplied from a rechargeable battery, and a demand for an increasein the supply capacitance of the electric power. However, a rechargeablebattery set to a high voltage or a rechargeable battery set to a largesupply capacitance is expensive and is poor in versatility.

There has been a need in the art to enable the use of a rechargeablebattery that is superior in versatility, for meeting the demand forsetting the voltage to be higher or for setting the supply capacitanceto be lager in using a cutting tool that is configured to reciprocate anelongated cutting blade to cut a workpiece by the cutting blade

SUMMARY

In one aspect according to the present disclosure, a cutting tool mayhave an output shaft to which a cutting blade is mounted. The outputshaft may be reciprocated to cut a workpiece to be cut by the mountedcutting blade. A tool main body may include a front end from which theoutput shaft protrudes. The tool main body may be provided with anelectric motor rotatably driving a motor shaft with a supply of powerfrom a rechargeable battery. A reciprocation converting mechanism mayconvert the rotation drive of the motor shaft to a reciprocating motionof the output shaft. A housing may form an outer casing of the tool mainbody and may be provided with two battery attachment portions eachallowing attachment of the rechargeable battery. Each of the two batteryattachment portions may be configured as a slide attachment type batteryattachment portion suited to a slide attachment type rechargeablebattery that is attached through sliding.

With this arrangement, the housing forming the outer casing of the toolmain body is provided with two battery attachment portions each allowingattachment of the rechargeable battery, so that it is possible to meetthe demand for setting a voltage to be higher and for setting a supplycapacitance to be larger for use as the cutting tool. Further, with theabove arrangement, each of the two battery attachment portions may beconfigured as a slide attachment type battery attachment portion suitedto a slide attachment type rechargeable battery that is attached throughsliding. That is, it is possible to use widely used slide attachmenttype rechargeable batteries. As a result, it is possible to is userechargeable batteries that are superior in versatility, for meeting thedemand for setting the voltage to be higher or for setting the supplycapacitance to be lager for use as the cutting tool.

At a rear portion of the tool main body, there may be provided a griphousing including a handle portion to be grasped by hand. Attachmentdirections of two rechargeable batteries respectively attached to thetwo battery attachment portions may cross a reciprocating direction ofthe output shaft, and also may cross a direction in which the griphousing extends. Therefore, the attachment direction of eachrechargeable battery may be set to the width direction of the tool mainbody.

In general, the tool main body may have a shape of extending in thereciprocating direction of the output shaft, and therefore, when therechargeable batteries are attached in the width direction of the toolmain body, the rechargeable batteries are arranged in parallel side byside in the direction in which the tool main body extends. As a result,while it is possible to arrange the two rechargeable batteries inparallel side by side, it is possible to suppress bulkiness in the widthdirection of the tool main body, making it possible to easily perform acutting operation in a narrow space to maintain the maneuverability ofthe tool. Further, because the attachment direction of each rechargeablebattery crosses the vibrating direction of the tool main body, it ispossible to enhance the effect of preventing detachment of therechargeable batteries after attachment.

The attachment directions of the two rechargeable batteries may be thesame with each other. With this arrangement, it is possible to attach ordetach the two batteries at once in one direction, and therefore, theattachment or detachment operation can be easily performed withconvenience.

The two battery attachment portions may be arranged so as to be astridea center line extending in a front-rear direction of the tool main body.The right-left direction (width direction) of this tool main body may beset as a direction crossing the front-rear direction of the tool mainbody.

With this arrangement, the weight of the rechargeable batteries attachedto the battery attachment portions can be easily well-balanced in theright-left direction of the tool main body, making it possible tomaintain the maneuverability of the tool.

Positions of the two battery attachment portions may be set such that asynthetic center of gravity of two rechargeable batteries attached tothe two battery attachment portions is positioned on the center lineextending in the front-rear direction of the tool main body.

With this arrangement, even in the state in which the two rechargeablebatteries have been attached, the cutting tool can be well-balanced inthe right-left direction.

Positions of the two battery attachment portions may be set such thatdirections in which two rechargeable batteries are attached to the twobattery attachment portions are at an angle so as to cross downwardsfrom above a reciprocating direction of the output shaft.

With this arrangement, it is possible to inhibit the attachedrechargeable batteries from being detached from the battery attachmentportions when the operation is performed with the cutting tool beingoriented horizontally or upwards. That is, in any of the orientationstaken for the operation, no gravitational force may act on therechargeable batteries attached to the battery attachment portions,making it possible to prevent detachment of the rechargeable batteriesfrom the battery attachment portions.

Positions of the two battery attachment portions may be set such thatlower surfaces of two rechargeable batteries attached to the two batteryattachment portions are within a same plane.

With this arrangement, the lower surfaces of the two rechargeablebatteries may be flush with each other so as to define common lowersurfaces, and therefore, it is possible to place the cutting tool suchthat the common lower surfaces face the placing surface.

In another aspect according to the present disclosure, a cutting toolmay have an output shaft to which a cutting blade is mounted. The outputshaft may be reciprocated to cut a workpiece by the mounted cuttingblade. A tool main body may include a front end from which the outputshaft protrudes. The tool main body may be provided with an electricmotor rotatably driving a motor shaft with a supply of power from arechargeable battery. A reciprocation converting mechanism may convertthe rotation of the motor shaft to a reciprocating motion of the outputshaft. A housing may form an outer casing of the tool main body and maybe provided with two battery attachment portions each allowingattachment of the rechargeable battery. At least one battery attachmentportion of the two battery attachment portions may be arranged at amotor housing that supports the electric motor.

With this cutting tool, the at least one battery attachment portion isarranged at the motor housing supporting the electric motor. Therefore,it is possible to apply cooling air for cooling the electric motor tothe rechargeable battery attached to the battery attachment portion. Asa result, it is possible to cool the rechargeable battery during theuse.

In a further aspect according to the present disclosure, a cutting toolmay have an output shaft to which a cutting blade is mounted. The outputshaft may be reciprocated to cut a workpiece by the mounted cuttingblade. A tool main body may include a front end from which the outputshaft protrudes. The tool main body may be provided with an electricmotor rotatably driving a motor shaft with a supply of power from arechargeable battery. A reciprocation converting mechanism may convertthe rotation of the motor shaft to a reciprocating motion of the outputshaft. A housing may form an outer casing of the tool main body and maybe provided with at least one battery attachment portion allowingattachment of the rechargeable battery. An arrangement position of theat least one battery attachment portion may be set to a positionopposite to a position of a center of gravity of the tool main body withthe rechargeable battery detached therefrom, with respect to areciprocation axis along which the output shaft reciprocates.

With this cutting tool, the position of the center of gravity of theentire cutting tool with the rechargeable battery attached to the atleast one battery attachment portion can be set close to thereciprocation axis along which the output shaft reciprocates. Hence, theposition of the center of gravity of the entire cutting tool with therechargeable battery attached thereto can be set close to thereciprocation axis along which the output shaft reciprocates as a resultof conversion by the reciprocation converting mechanism reciprocates.Therefore, it is possible to suppress the fluttering of thereciprocating output shaft generated when cutting the workpiece to becut. Therefore, the cutting tool may be improved in terms of feeling ofuse and easy to handle.

In a still further aspect according to the present disclosure, a cuttingtool may have an output shaft to which a cutting blade is mounted. Theoutput shaft may be reciprocated to cut a workpiece by the mountedcutting blade. A tool main body may include a front end from which theoutput shaft protrudes. The tool main body may be provided with anelectric motor rotatably driving a motor shaft with a supply of powerfrom a rechargeable battery. A reciprocation converting mechanism mayconvert the rotation of the motor shaft to a reciprocating motion of theoutput shaft. A grip housing may include a handle portion to be graspedby hand and may be arranged at a rear portion of the tool main body. Thegrip housing may be provided with at least one battery attachmentportion allowing attachment of the rechargeable battery. An elasticmember may be arranged at at least a part between a front side portionof the grip housing and a rear side portion of the motor housing towhich the front side portion of the grip housing is connected.

With this cutting tool, the grip housing may provided with at least onebattery attachment portion allowing attachment of the rechargeablebattery, and therefore, it is possible to attach the rechargeablebattery to the at least one battery attachment portion. With thearrangement, it is possible to increase the weight of the grip housinghaving the handle portion, so that the vibrations generated through thereciprocation of the output shaft may be inhibited from beingtransmitted to the handle portion. Therefore, the cutting tool can bereduced in vibrations and can be improved in terms of feeling of use forthe user.

Further, by the arrangement of the elastic member at at least a partbetween the front side portion of the grip housing and the rear sideportion of the motor housing, the vibrations generated through thereciprocation of the output shaft may be transmitted to the handleportion via the elastic member, making it possible to buffer thevibrations transmitted to the handle portion. Therefore, the cuttingtool can be reduced in vibrations and can be improved in terms offeeling of use for the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a substantially overall perspective view illustrating theexternal appearance of a reciprocating saw according to a firstembodiment, as seen obliquely from the rear side.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 1 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 1 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the arrow line (V)-(V) of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the arrow line (VI)-(VI) of FIG.4.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of thereciprocating saw with rechargeable batteries removed therefrom.

FIG. 8 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 7 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a rechargeable battery that is attachedto a battery attachment portion through sliding.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a battery terminal connectionportion.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance, asseen obliquely from the rear side, of a reciprocating saw according to asecond embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating another external appearanceof the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 11 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 11 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 16 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 11 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance, asseen obliquely from the rear side, of a reciprocating saw according to athird embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an external perspective view illustrating another externalappearance of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 17 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 17 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 22 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 17 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance, asseen obliquely from the rear side, of a reciprocating saw according to afourth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 23 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 23 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 27 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 23 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance, asseen obliquely from the rear side, of a reciprocating saw according to afifth embodiment.

FIG. 29 is an external perspective view illustrating another externalappearance of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 31 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 28 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 32 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 28 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 33 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 28 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance, asseen obliquely from the rear side, of a reciprocating saw according to asixth embodiment.

FIG. 35 is an external perspective view illustrating another externalappearance of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 34.

FIG. 37 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 34 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 38 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 34 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 39 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 34 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance, asseen obliquely from the rear side, of a reciprocating saw according to aseventh embodiment.

FIG. 41 is an external perspective view illustrating another externalappearance of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 40.

FIG. 42 is a side view of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 40.

FIG. 43 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 40 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 44 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 40 as seen fromthe upper side.

FIG. 45 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 40 as seen from thelower side.

FIG. 46 is a side view illustrating the external appearance, as seenfrom the right side, of a reciprocating saw according to an eighthembodiment.

FIG. 47 is a side view illustrating the external appearance, as seenfrom the left side, of the reciprocating saw shown in FIG. 46.

FIG. 48 is a side view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 46 with a griphousing removed therefrom.

FIG. 49 is a sectional view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 46 takenalong the center axis thereof.

FIG. 50 is a view of the reciprocating saw of FIG. 46 as seen from therear side.

FIG. 51 is a sectional view taken along arrow line (LI)-(LI) in FIG. 46.

FIG. 52 is a sectional view of a reciprocating saw to which the presentinvention is applicable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

Next, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1through 10. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a reciprocating sawwhich corresponds to a cutting tool according to the present invention.FIG. 1 is a substantially overall perspective view of the externalappearance of the reciprocating saw 10 as seen obliquely from the rearside. FIG. 2 is a side view of the reciprocating saw 10 shown in FIG. 1.FIG. 3 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw 10 shown in FIG. 1 asseen from the rear side. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the reciprocating saw10 shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the upper side. FIG. 5 is a sectionalview taken along arrow line (V)-(V) of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectionalview taken along arrow line (VI)-(VI) of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is asubstantially overall perspective view, as seen obliquely from the rearside, illustrating the external appearance of the reciprocating saw 10with rechargeable batteries 80 removed therefrom. FIG. 8 is a plan viewof the reciprocating saw 10 shown in FIG. 7 as seen from the lower side.FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the rechargeable battery 80 that isattached to a battery attachment portion 60 through sliding. FIG. 10 isan enlarged plan view of a battery terminal connection portion 600. Inthe following, the reciprocating saw 10 will be described by referringto the directions in the drawings.

This reciprocating saw 10 may be a hand-held type cutting tool forperforming a machining operation while being held by a hand of the user;it is a high-power type reciprocating saw with a voltage of the supplypower set to 36 V. This reciprocating saw 10 may be configured to havean output shaft 50 to which a blade B as a cutting blade is mounted.This output shaft 50 may be provided with a mounting portion 51 forholding the blade B. The blade B may be mounted to this mounting portion51. This blade B reciprocates as it receives the reciprocating motion ofthe output shaft 50. Therefore, the reciprocating blade B can cut aworkpiece to be cut.

This reciprocating saw 10 may be generally provided with a tool mainbody 100 from the front end of which the above-mentioned output shaft 50projects, and a shoe 57 mounted to the front end side of this tool mainbody 100. The tool main body 100 may be generally provided with ahousing 11, an electric motor 22, and a crank mechanism 42. The crankmechanism 42 may serve as a reciprocation converting mechanism. Thehousing 11 constitutes an outer casing of this tool main body 100. Asthe housing 11, there may be provided a grip housing 12, a motor housing21, and a gear housing 41 in the order from the rear side. The griphousing 12, the motor housing 21, and the gear housing 41 are connectedto each other to constitute a part of the outer casing of thereciprocating saw 10. The grip housing 12 is formed as a resin moldedproduct divided into halves. As shown in the drawings, this grip housing12 is formed as a ring (loop shape) extending in the front-reardirection. This grip housing 12 is of a substantially D-shaped shape ina side view. The rear portion of the grip housing 12 formed in the loopshape is formed as a handle portion 13 grasped by the hand of the user.

A suitable elastomer may be attached to the outer peripheral surface ofthis handle portion 13. This elastomer ensures a function such as a slippreventing function when the handle portion 13 is grasped by the hand.The lower end of this handle portion 13 is set as a handle end portion33. This handle end portion 33 is set to form substantially the rearmostend of the tool main body 100 and, at the same time, to form thelowermost end of the tool main body 100. On the upper side of thishandle portion 13, there is formed an upper connection portion 14protruding forwards. Further, also on the lower side of the handleportion 13, there is formed a lower connection portion 15 protrudingforwards. The front portion of the upper connecting portion 14 and thefront portion of the lower connecting portion 15 are connected to eachother. The front side portion of the grip housing 12 connecting theupper connection portion 14 and the lower connection portion 15 in thisway is connected to the motor housing 21 that will be hereinafterdescribed.

The handle portion 13 may be provided with an operation switch 17. Asshown in FIG. 5, this operation switch 17 is provided with a switch mainbody 18 and an operation button portion 19. The switch main body 18 isaccommodated in the grip housing 12 and supported by the grip housing12. A contact switch that is widely used constitutes this switch mainbody 18. The operation button portion 19 is supported by the griphousing 12 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The contactof the switch main body 18 is turned on through the pushing operation ofthe operation button portion 19 along the grasping direction of thehandle portion 13. The switch main body 18 having its contact turned oninputs a signal indicating turning-on of the switch to a controller (notshown).

When no pushing operation is performed on the operation button portion19, the pushing is released by a bias spring (not shown), so that aturning-off state is attained in which the contact is tuned off. Thefront end portion of this grip housing 12 is provided with a rear sidebearing 35 supporting a motor shaft 23 of the electric motor 22described below. The rear side bearing 35 is supported by the griphousing 12. A controller (not shown) is accommodated in this griphousing 12. This controller is constituted to have various electricalcomponents such as a shunt resistor and a field-effect transistor (FET)circuit. This controller is constituted by a circuit board performingvarious controls relating to the power supply.

The motor shaft 23 may define defined as the center axis X1 of the toolmain body 100. A motor housing 21 is connected to the front side of thegrip housing 12. This motor housing 21 is formed as a molded productobtained through aluminum casting. This motor housing 21 supports theelectric motor 22 arranged inside the motor housing 21. With the supplyof electric power, the electric motor 22 rotates the motor shaft 23.This electric motor 22 constituted by a so-called brush motor, and isprovided with a stator 24, a rotor 25, and a commutator 26.

The stator 24 may be a permanent magnet supported by the motor housing21. The rotor 25 may be formed by wound coils. The motor shaft 23 is setas the rotation shaft of the rotor 25. This motor shaft 23 is rotatablysupported by a rear side bearing 35 at the rear end side and a frontside bearing 36 at the front end side. A cooling fan 28 may be mountedto the portion of the motor shaft 23 on the front side of the rotor 25.On the lower side of the cooling fan 28, there may be provided airdischarge holes 30 extending through the motor housing 21 between theinterior and the exterior thereof.

Air inlet holes 29 contrasting to the air discharge holes 30 may beprovided at the front side of the grip housing 12 as shown in FIG. 1,etc. A gear housing 41 supports the front side bearing 36. Further, atthe front end of the motor shaft 23, there is provided a pinion gear 37using the motor shaft 23 as the rotation shaft. This pinion gear 37 isformed in a tapered configuration so as to be in mesh with a bevel gear43 of the crank mechanism 42 that will be described later.

The gear housing 41 is connected to the front side of the motor housing21. The gear housing 41 accommodates the crank mechanism 42. The gearhousing 41 is an aluminum-casting product and is formed by joiningtogether a lower housing 411 and an upper housing 412. The lower housing411 and the upper housing 412 form a substantially tubular shape whenthey are joined together.

This gear housing 41 is fixed to the motor housing 21 by screws via aflange portion 413. This gear housing 41 accommodates the crankmechanism 42 that converts the drive mode of the rotational drive of themotor shaft 23. This crank mechanism 42 converts the rotational drive ofthe motor shaft 23 to the reciprocating motion of the output shaft 50.That is, the crank mechanism 42 is generally provided with a bevel gear43, a bevel gear rotation shaft 44, a crank shaft 45, and a slider 46.The bevel gear 43 is in mesh with the pinion gear 37 at the front end ofthe motor shaft 23. This bevel gear 43 rotates using as the rotationshaft the bevel gear rotation shaft 44 supported by the lower housing411. At the offset position from the center of the bevel gear 43, thecrank shaft 45 is arranged so as to protrude upwards.

This crank shaft 45 functions as the offset shaft of the bevel gear 43.The front end of the slider 46 is set as the output shaft 50. Thisslider 46 is formed as a cylindrical tubular rod. The forward/backwardslide movement of the slider 46 is guided by a guide sleeve 49 supportedby the upper housing 412. A slide plate 47 is disposed at the lowerportion of the slider 46. The slide plate 47 is of a U-shaped sectionalconfiguration with its lower side open. The upper end of the crank shaft45 is loosely fitted into the interior of the U-shaped of the slideplate 47. That is, while sliding to the right and left within theU-shape of the slide plate 47, the crank shaft 45 causes the slider 46to move in conjunction therewith. As the motor shaft 23 rotates in thisway, the pinion gear 37 also rotates, and the bevel gear 43 in mesh withthis pinion gear 37 also rotates.

Then, the crank shaft 45 arranged at the offset position of this bevelgear 43 slides to the right and left within the U-shape of the slideplate 47. In this process, the rotational motion of the crank shaft 45causes the slide plate 47 to move back and forth, with the diameter ofthe movement path of the crank shaft 45 being the forward/backwardstroke amount of the slide plate 47. That is, the slider 46 is movedback and forth by the back and forth movement of the slide plate 47, sothat the output shaft 50 moves back and forth, i.e., reciprocates. Inthis way, the blade B mounted to the mounting portion 51 of the outputshaft 50 reciprocates, and this reciprocating blade B can cut theworkpiece to be cut.

The extension line of the axis of this output shaft 50 is defined as thereciprocation axis X2 of the output shaft 50. On the outer periphery ofthe gear housing 41 constructed as described above, there is provided aninsulating cover 53 formed of rubber resin. This insulating cover 53 isarranged so as to cover the entire range of the outer periphery of thegear housing 41. This insulating cover 53 effects to insulate thermalconduction and electrical conduction. Thus, the outer peripheral portionof the insulating cover 53 covering the gear housing 41 can alsofunction as a handle portion grasped by the hand of the user.

Reference numeral 57 denotes the shoe. The blade B mounted to themounting portion 51 of the output shaft 50 protrudes forwards so as toextend through the shoe 57. Although shifted in the vertical direction,this output shaft 50 is arranged on the extension line of the axis ofthe motor shaft 23 (the central line X1 defined by the axis of the motorshaft 23).

Next, the motor housing 21 may be provided with two battery attachmentportions 60 (60 a and 60 b). That is, substantially the lower half ofthe motor housing 21 is provided with two battery attachment portions 60a and 60 b. In this way, the two battery attachment portions 60 a and 60b provided on the motor housing 21 are arranged around the electricmotor 22. Rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b to be attached throughsliding are respectively attached to the battery attachment portions 60a and 60 b.

As shown in FIG. 9, the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b may bethose set to have a supply power voltage of 18 V, which is widely used.The rechargeable batteries 80 may be so-called slide attachment typerechargeable batteries that can be attached to the battery attachmentportions 60 through sliding. Therefore, on the upper surface (connectionterminal arrangement surface) side of the rechargeable batteries 80,there are provided structures for slide attachment and structures forelectrical connection.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, on the upper surface side of therechargeable battery 80, there may be provided a pair of slide guideportions 81 and 82 as the structure for slide attachment. Further, onthe upper surface side of the rechargeable battery 80, there may beprovided a positive side terminal 83, a negative side terminal 84, and asignal side terminal 85 as the structure for electrical connection.Further, on the upper surface side of the rechargeable battery 80, theremay be provided a male hook 87 which, when the electrical connection iseffected through the slide attachment of the rechargeable battery 80,keeps the rechargeable battery 80 to be engaged with the batteryattachment portion 60.

At the detachment direction side of the rechargeable battery 80, theremay be provided a pushbutton 88 for operating the above-mentioned malehook 87 (See FIG. 4, etc.) This pushbutton 88 is connected to the malehook 87. By depressing this pushbutton 88, the male hook 87 is operatedto be accommodated within the rechargeable battery 80. As a result, astate is resulted in which the rechargeable battery 80 is not engagedwith the battery attachment portion 60, making it possible to detach therechargeable battery 80 from the battery attachment portion 60.

Symbol L in FIG. 9 denotes the length in the longitudinal direction ofthis rechargeable battery 80. Symbol W in FIG. 9 denotes the length inthe width direction of the rechargeable battery 80. Symbol H in FIG. 9denotes the length in the height direction of the rechargeable battery80. That is, this rechargeable battery 80 may be formed as asubstantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with the relationship insize of the longitudinal length L>the width direction length W>theheight direction length H.

Next, the battery attachment portion 60 to which the rechargeablebattery 80 is attached through sliding will be described. As shown inFIGS. 7 and 10, the battery attachment portion 60 may be of a structureallowing attachment of the rechargeable battery 80 through sliding. Thatis, the battery attachment portion 60 is configured as a slideattachment type battery attachment portion suitable to the rechargeablebattery 80. Thus, it has an attachment structure suitable to therechargeable battery 80.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the battery attachment portion 60may be provided with a structure allowing the rechargeable battery 80 tobe attached through sliding, and a structure allowing electricalconnection of the rechargeable battery 80. As shown in FIG. 7, thisbattery attachment portion 60 may be provided with a pair of slide guidereceiving portions 61 and 62 as the structure for slide attachment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the battery attachment portion 60 may be providedwith, as the structure for electrical connection, a battery terminalconnection portion 600 having a positive side terminal 63, a negativeside terminal 64, and a signal side terminal 65. Further, as shown inFIG. 7, when the rechargeable battery 80 is attached through sliding forelectrical connection, the rechargeable battery 80 may be locked to thebattery attachment portion 60. That is, the battery attachment portion60 is provided with a female portion (recess) 66 with which the malehook 87 of the rechargeable battery 80 in this state is engaged.

Incidentally, the arrangement positions of these two battery attachmentportions 60 (60 a and 60 b) may be determined with respect to the motorhousing 21 based on items set as follows. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6and 8, these two battery attachment portions 60 (60 a and 60 b) arearranged with respect to the motor housing 21 supporting the electricmotor 22 such that they are proximal to the electric motor 22.

The synthetic center of gravity X5 of the two rechargeable batteriesrespectively attached to the two battery attachment portions 60 (60 aand 60 b) may be positioned on the central line X1 (defined by the axisof the motor shaft 23) extending in the front-rear direction of the toolmain body 100. In other words, these two battery attachment portions 60(60 a and 60 b) are formed to have constructions that are symmetricalwith respect to the central line X1 constituting the extension line ofthe axis of the motor shaft 23.

As shown in FIG. 6, the upper end portions of these two batteryattachment portions 60 (60 a and 60 b) may be set substantially at thesame position as the motor shaft 23. More specifically, the upper endportions of these two battery attachment portions 60 (60 a and 60 b) areset at positions slightly lower than the motor shaft 23. Thus, thepositions where these two battery attachment portions 60 (60 a and 60 b)are arranged are determined on the side opposite to the reciprocatingmotion axis X2 of the output shaft 50 with respect to the extension lineof the axis of the motor shaft 23 (the central line X1 of the tool mainbody 100).

The phantom line denoted by reference numeral X3 in FIG. 3 indicates anaxis along which the rechargeable battery 80 a is attached to the firstbattery attachment portion 60 a through sliding. The phantom linedenoted by reference numeral X4 in FIG. 3 indicates an axis along whichthe rechargeable battery 80 b is attached to the second batteryattachment portion 60 b through sliding. The first and second batteryattachment portions 60 a and 60 b are configured to have theconstruction of the battery attachment portion 60 described above. Theattachment directions of the two rechargeable batteries 80 (80 a and 80b) with respect to these two battery attachment portions 60 (60 a and 60b) are set so as to extend at an angle crossing downwards from above tothe direction in which the output shaft 50 reciprocates.

That is, the slide attachment direction (axis X3) of the rechargeablebattery 80 a with respect to the first battery attachment portion 60 amay be inclined from the left upper side to the right lower side. Theslide attachment direction (axis X4) of the rechargeable battery 80 bwith respect to the second battery attachment portion 60 b may beinclined from the right upper side to the left lower side. Morespecifically, the slide attachment direction of the rechargeable battery80 a with respect to the first battery attachment portion 60 a and theslide attachment direction of the rechargeable battery 80 b with respectto the second battery attachment portion 60 b alternately extend fromthe upper side to the lower side, and are somewhat inclined toward thecenter.

That is, the first battery attachment portion 60 a and the secondbattery attachment portion 60 b are configured to allow attachment ofthe rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b through sliding in the inclineddirections that are oriented alternately obliquely downwards. Thus, asshown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the axis X3 along which the rechargeable battery80 a is attached to the first battery attachment portion 60 a throughsliding and the axis X4 along which the rechargeable battery 80 b isattached to the second battery attachment portion 60 b through slidingcross each other at a position on the lower side of the motor housing21. The rechargeable batteries 80 (80 a and 80 b) attached to the firstbattery attachment portion 60 a and the second battery attachmentportion 60 b can supply electric power to the electric motor 22.

In the reciprocating saw 10 according to the first embodiment, the motorhousing 21 of the housing 11 constituting the external casing of thetool main body 100 is provided with two battery attachment portions 60(60 a and 60 b) allowing attachment of the rechargeable batteries 80 (80a and 80 b), so that when used as the reciprocating saw 10, the cuttingtool can meet the demand for setting a voltage to be higher and thedemand for setting a supply capacitance to be larger.

In this reciprocating saw 10, the two battery attachment portions 60 aand 60 b are configured as slide attachment type battery attachmentportions. Therefore, the two battery attachment portions 60 a and 60 bcan be suited for slide attachment type rechargeable batteries 80 a and80 b that are attached through sliding. That is, widely used slideattachment type rechargeable batteries 80 can be used. Thus, in using asthe reciprocating saw 10, it is possible to use rechargeable batteries80 that are particularly widely used while meeting the demand forsetting a voltage to be higher and the demand for setting a supplycapacitance to be larger.

In the above-described reciprocating saw 10, the positions of the twobattery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b are determined such that thesynthetic center of gravity X5 of the two rechargeable batteries 80 aand 80 b is positioned on the central line X1 extending in thefront-rear direction of the tool main body 100 (the front-rear andup-down planes including the axis of the motor shaft 23). As a result,even in the state in which the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 bare attached, it is possible for the reciprocating saw 10 to bewell-balanced in the right-left direction.

With the reciprocating saw 10 described above, the positions of the twobattery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b are determined such that theattachment directions of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 bextend at an angle with respect to the reciprocating direction of theoutput shaft 50 so as to cross thereto downwards from above. As aresult, in performing operation with the reciprocating saw 10 orientedhorizontally or upwards, it is possible to inhibit the rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b attached to the battery attachment portions 60 aand 60 b from being detached from the battery attachment portions 60 aand 60 b. In this way, whatever attitude is taken for the operation,there is no fear that the gravitational force applied to therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b acts to detach the same from thebattery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b, making it possible to preventdetachment of the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b from the batteryattachment portions 60 a and 60 b.

In the above-described reciprocating saw 10, the battery attachmentportions 60 a and 60 b are provided on the motor housing 21 supportingthe electric motor 22, so that the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 battached to the battery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b can alsoindirectly receive the cooling of the electric motor 22. That is, therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached to the battery attachmentportions 60 a and 60 b can also be cooled in accordance with the coolingof the electric motor 22, thus suppressing heat of the reciprocating saw10 generating during the use.

Second Embodiment

Next, second and third embodiments, which are modifications of theabove-described first embodiment, will be described with reference toFIGS. 11 through 22. Reciprocating saws 10A and 10B of the second andthird embodiments differ from the reciprocating saw 10 of the firstembodiment only in the arrangement of the battery attachment portions60. Thus, regarding the reciprocating saws 10A and 10B of the second andthird embodiments, solely the arrangement different from the batteryattachment portions 60 of the reciprocating saw 10 of the firstembodiment will be described; the portions that are of the sameconstruction as those of the first embodiment are labeled with the samereference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The reciprocating saw 10A according to the second embodiment may beconstructed as illustrated in FIGS. 11 through 16.

The reciprocating saw 10A of the second embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment in the following respects.That is, in the reciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment, openingsof the battery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b to which the batteriesare attached through sliding are directed upwards. Thus, therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are attached through slidingsubstantially downwards from above. In contrast, in the reciprocatingsaw 10A of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 through 16, openingsof battery attachment portions 60Aa and 60Ab to which the batteries areattached through sliding are directed forwards. Therefore, therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are attached through sliding fromthe front side toward the rear side. That is, the battery attachmentportions 60Aa and 60Ab of the second embodiment are provided on themotor housing 21 in such a way that the battery attachment portions 60 aand 60 b of the first embodiment are rotated by 90 degrees to the frontside.

In the reciprocating saw 10A of the second embodiment, the axis X3 alongwhich the rechargeable battery 80 a is attached through sliding to thefirst battery attachment portion 60Aa and the axis X4 along which therechargeable battery 80 b is attached through sliding to the secondbattery attachment portion 60Ab are set to be parallel to each other.Also in the case of the reciprocating saw 10A configured according tothe second embodiment, the portions configured substantially in the samemanner as in the reciprocating saw 10 according to the first embodimentcan provide substantially the same operations and advantages.

Further, with this reciprocating saw 10A, it is possible to reduce thebulkiness in the right-left width of the reciprocating saw 10A to whichthe rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are attached. Further, end edgeportions (indicated by reference numerals 891 and 892) of therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached to battery attachmentportions 60Aa and 60Ab may define an imaginary seating surface(indicated by reference numeral 893) for allowing the support on thesurface. In this way, it is possible to arrange the imaginary seatingsurface 893 so as to be supported by the placing surface, making itpossible to place on the surface the reciprocating saw 10A with therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached thereto.

Third Embodiment

Next, the third embodiment will be described. The reciprocating saw 10Baccording to the third embodiment may be constructed as shown in FIGS.17 through 22.

The reciprocating saw 10B according to the third embodiment differs fromthe reciprocating saw 10 of the second embodiment in the orientation inwhich the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are attached to batteryattachment portions 60Ba and 60Bb through sliding. More specifically,lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80b attached to the battery attachment portions 60Aa and 60Ab of thesecond embodiment extend in directions inclined with respect to theright-left direction of the tool main body 100B.

In contrast, the lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of the rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b attached to the battery attachment portions 60Baand 60Bb of the third embodiment extend in a direction in conformitywith the right-left direction of the tool main body 100B. That is, asshown in FIGS. 17 through 22, the positions of the two batteryattachment portions 60Ba and 60Bb are set such that the lower surfaces800 a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attachedto the two battery attachment portions 60Ba and 60Bb through sliding arewithin the same plane. Thus, the lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of thetwo rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached to the two batteryattachment portions 60B a and 60Bb through sliding define common lowersurfaces 800 c as a result of being within the same plane.

The common lower surface 800 c (800 a and 800 b) of the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b thus attached through sliding is also set to bewithin the same plane as the handle end portion 33 constituting thelower end of the handle portion 13. Also in the battery attachmentportions 60Ba and 60Bb according to the third embodiment, therechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are set so as to be attachedthrough sliding from the front side toward the rear side. Further, theaxis X3 along which the rechargeable battery 80 a is attached to thefirst battery attachment portion 60Ba through sliding and the axis X4along which the rechargeable battery 80 b is attached to the firstbattery attachment portion 60Bb through sliding are set to be parallelto each other.

Also in the case where the reciprocating saw 10B is configured as in thethird embodiment, it is possible to achieve substantially the sameoperations and effects regarding the portions formed in substantiallythe same way as those of the reciprocating saw 10 of the above-describedfirst embodiment. Further, in this reciprocating saw 10B, the positionsof the two battery attachment portions 60Ba and 60Bb are set such thatthe lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80a and 80 b are within the same plane. As a result, the lower surfaces800 a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b arewithin the same plane so as to define the common lower surfaces 800 c,making it possible to place the reciprocating saw 10 on the placingsurface with the common lower surfaces facing the same. Further, thecommon lower surfaces 800 c (800 a and 800 b) of the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b are also within the same plane as the handle endportion 33 constituting the lower end of the handle portion 13, so thatthey can be also supported by the lower end of the tool main body 100Bitself, making it possible to place the reciprocating saw 10B on theplacing surface in a stable fashion.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, fourth and fifth embodiments differing from the first throughthird embodiments described above will be described with reference toFIGS. 23 through 33. As compared with the reciprocating saws 10, 10A and10B of the first through third embodiments, reciprocating saws 10C and10D of the fourth and fifth embodiments described below are devised suchthat the right-left width of the reciprocating saw may be small even inthe state in which the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b have beenattached through sliding.

That is, the reciprocating saw 10C and 10D of the fourth and fifthembodiments differs from the reciprocating saws 10 to 10B of the firstthrough third embodiments in that the two battery attachment portions60C(60Ca, 60Cb) and 60D(60Da, 60Db) are arranged so as to be displacedin the front-rear direction of the tool main body 100. The reciprocatingsaw 10 c of the fourth embodiment may be constructed as shown in FIGS.23 through 27.

In the reciprocating saw 10C according to the fourth embodiment, thefirst battery attachment portion 60Ca is arranged at the lowerconnection portion 15 of the grip housing 12.

The second battery attachment portion 60Cb is arranged at a lowerextension portion 38 on the lower side of the motor housing 21. Thislower extension portion 38 is arranged so as to extend on the lower sideof the motor housing 21. As compared with the rechargeable battery 80 battached to the second battery attachment portion 60Cb, the rechargeablebattery 80 a attached to the first battery attachment portion 60Ca isset to be arranged on the lower side of the tool main body 100C. Here,the axis X3 along which the rechargeable battery 80 a is attached to thefirst battery attachment portion 60Ca and the axis X4 along which therechargeable battery 80 b is attached to the second battery attachmentportion 60Cb are set to be parallel to each other.

The directions in which the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b areattached to the first and second battery attachment portions 60Ca and60Cb through sliding are both from the front side toward the rear sideof the tool main body 100C. Therefore, the rechargeable batteries 80 aand 80 b cannot be attached to the two battery attachment portions 60Caand 60Cb unless the rechargeable battery 80 a is first attached to thefirst battery attachment portion 60Ca through sliding, and therechargeable battery 80 b is thereafter attached to the second batteryattachment portion 60Cb through sliding.

In the case of the reciprocating saw 10C configured as in this fourthembodiment, two battery attachment portions 60Ca and 60Cb allowingattachment of the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are arranged atthe housing 11 constituting the external casing of the tool main body100C, and therefore, in using the reciprocating saw 10C, it is possibleto meet the demand for setting a voltage to be higher and the demand forsetting a supply capacitance to be larger. Further, in thisreciprocating saw 10C, the two battery attachment portions 60Ca and 60Cbare configured as slide attachment type battery attachment portions, andtherefore, the two battery attachment portions 60Ca and 60Cb are suitedto the slide attachment type rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b thatare attached through sliding. That is, it is possible to use the slideattachment type rechargeable batteries 80 widely used.

Therefore, in using the reciprocating saw 10C, it is possible to use therechargeable batteries 80 that are particularly widely used whilemeeting the demand for setting a voltage to be higher and the demand forsetting a supply capacitance to be larger. Further, the two batteryattachment portions 60Ca and 60Cb for attaching the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b through sliding are arranged so as to bedisplaced in the front-rear direction of the tool main body 100, so thatit is possible to reduce the right-left width of the entirereciprocating saw 10C, making it possible to enhance the convenience forthe operation in a narrow space.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, the reciprocating saw 10D according to the fifth embodiment whichis a modification of the reciprocating saw 10C of the above-describedfourth embodiment will be described. The reciprocating saw 10D accordingto the fifth embodiment may be configured as shown in FIGS. 28 through33.

The reciprocating saw 10D of the fifth embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10D of the fourth embodiment described above in theposition where a second battery attachment portion 60Db is arranged.That is, the second battery attachment portion 60Cb of the reciprocatingsaw 10C of the fourth embodiment is arranged at the lower side extensionportion 38 on the lower side of the motor housing 21. In contrast, thesecond battery attachment portion 60Db of the reciprocating saw 10D ofthe fifth embodiment is arranged at the front side extension portion 39of the grip housing 12 of a tool main body 100D.

The second battery attachment portion 60Db is arranged at the frontsurface portion of the front side extension portion 39. With this secondbattery attachment portion 60Db, the rechargeable battery 80 b isattached through sliding from the lower side toward the upper side. Inthe case where the rechargeable battery 80 b is attached through slidingto the second battery attachment portion 60Db arranged at the front sideextension portion 39, the battery may be arranged on the lower side themotor housing 21. Further, the first battery attachment portion 60Da isset such that the direction in which the battery is attached throughsliding is opposite to that in the case of the first battery attachmentportion 60Ca of the reciprocating saw 10C of the fourth embodiment.

That is, for the first battery attachment portion 60Da of thereciprocating saw 10D of the fifth embodiment, the rechargeable battery80 a is attached through sliding from the rear side toward the frontside. Even in the case where the reciprocating saw 10D is configured asin the case of the fifth embodiment, it is possible to achievesubstantially the same operations and effects as those in thereciprocating saw 10C regarding the portions formed substantially in thesame way as in the fourth embodiment. Moreover, as compared with thecase where the reciprocating saw 10C is configured as in the fourthembodiment, in the case where the reciprocating saw 10D is configured asin the fifth embodiment, it is possible to reduce the bulkiness of thefront side portion, so that it is possible to further enhance theconvenience for the operation in a narrow space.

Sixth Embodiment

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Areciprocating saw 10E of the sixth embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment only in the arrangementconstruction of the battery attachment portions 60. Therefore, regardingthe reciprocating saw 10E of the sixth embodiment described below, onlythe arrangement construction different from the battery attachmentportions 60 of the first reciprocating saw 10 of the first embodimentwill be described; portions of the same construction as those of thefirst embodiment are labeled with the same reference numerals, and adescription thereof will be omitted.

The reciprocating saw 10E of the sixth embodiment may be constructed asshown in FIGS. 34 through 39.

The reciprocating saw 10E of the sixth embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment in the following respect.That is, in the reciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment describedabove, the battery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b are arranged at thelower portion of the motor housing 21. In contrast, in the reciprocatingsaw 10E of the sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 34 through 39, batteryattachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb are arranged at the upper portion ofthe tool main body 100E.

That is, the arrangement positions of the two battery attachmentportions 60Ea and 60Eb are set on the side opposite the center ofgravity X6 of a tool main body 100E with the rechargeable batteries 80(80 a and 80 b) removed therefrom, with respect to the reciprocatingmotion axis X2 along which the output shaft 50 reciprocates. Morespecifically, the first battery attachment portion 60Ea is arranged atthe upper surface of the upper connection portion 14 of the grip housing12. The first battery attachment portion 60Ea is configured so as toallow the rechargeable battery 80 a to be attached through sliding fromthe rear side toward the front side.

The second battery attachment portion 60Eb is arranged at the uppersurface of the motor housing 21. The second battery attachment portion60Eb is configured so as to allow the rechargeable battery 80 b to beattached through sliding from the front side toward the rear side. Whenthe two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are attached throughsliding to the two battery attachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb constructedas described above, the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b arearranged at the upper surface of the tool main body 100E.

The lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of the rechargeable batteries 80 aand 80 b thus attached to the battery attachment portions 6Ea and 60Ebextend relative to each other along directions in conformity with theright-left direction determined by the tool main body 100E. That is, asshown in FIGS. 34 through 39, the positions of the two batteryattachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb are set such that the lower surfaces800 a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attachedto the two battery attachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb through sliding arewithin the same plane. Thus, the lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of thetwo rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b respectively attached to thetwo battery attachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb through sliding may definecommon lower surfaces 800 c that are within the same plane.

Also in the case that the reciprocating saw 10E is configured as in thesixth embodiment, it is possible to achieve substantially the sameoperations and effects regarding the portions configured substantiallyin the same way as in the reciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment.Further, in this reciprocating saw 10E, the position X7 of the center ofgravity of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached to thetwo battery attachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb is set on the sideopposite the position X6 of the center of gravity of the tool main body100E with the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b removed therefrom,with respect to the reciprocating motion axis X2 along which the outputshaft 50 reciprocates. As a result, it is possible to set the positionof the center of gravity of the entire reciprocating saw 10E with thetwo rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached to the two batteryattachment portions 60Ea and 60Eb, to be close to the reciprocatingmotion axis X2 along which the output shaft 50 reciprocates. Thus, it ispossible to bring the position of the center of gravity of the entirereciprocating saw 10E with the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 battached thereto, to be close to the reciprocating motion axis X2 alongwhich the output shaft 50 having undergone conversion by the crankmechanism 42 reciprocates.

As a result, it is possible to suppress fluttering of the reciprocatingoutput shaft 50 generated during cutting of the workpiece to cut. Thus,it is possible to provide a cutting tool improved in terms of thefeeling of use (easiness of handling) for the user. Further, in thisreciprocating saw 10E, the positions of the two battery attachmentportions 60Ea and 60Eb are set such that the lower surfaces 800 a and800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are within thesame plane. As a result, the lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of the tworechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are within the same plane so as todefine common lower surfaces 800 c, and it is possible to place thereciprocating saw 10E with the common lower surfaces 800 c facing theplacing surface.

Seventh Embodiment

Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described.The reciprocating saw 10F of the seventh embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment only in the arrangementconstruction of the battery attachment portions 60. Therefore, regardingthe reciprocating saw 10F of the seventh embodiment described below,only the arrangement construction different from the battery attachmentportions 60 will be described; portions that are of the sameconstruction as the first embodiment described above are labeled withthe same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The reciprocating saw 10F according to the seventh embodiment may beconstructed as shown in FIGS. 40 through 45. The reciprocating saw 10Faccording to the seventh embodiment differs from the reciprocating saw10 of the first embodiment in the following respect.

That is, in the reciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment describedabove, the battery attachment portions 60 a and 60 b are arranged at thelower portion of the motor housing 21. In contrast, in the reciprocatingsaw 10F of the seventh embodiment shown in FIGS. 40 through 45, batteryattachment portions 60Fa and 60Fb are arranged at the lower connectionportion 15 of the grip housing 12. Further, in the reciprocating saw 10Fof the seventh embodiment, openings of the battery attachment portions60Fa and 60Fb are directed forward and are arranged side by side. Thus,the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are attached through slidingfrom the front side toward the rear side.

In this way, the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attached to thebattery attachment portions 60Fa and 60Fb through sliding are arrangedside by side as shown in the drawings. That is, as in the case of thereciprocating saw 10B of the third embodiment, the lower surfaces 800 aand 800 b extend side by side in the right-left direction of the toolmain body 100F. More specifically, the positions of the two batteryattachment portions 60Fa and 60Fb are set such that the lower surfaces800 a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b attachedto the two battery attachment portions 60Fa and 60Fb through sliding arewithin the same plane. As a result, the lower surfaces 800 a and 800 bof the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b define common lowersurfaces 800 c that are within the same plane.

An intermediation rubber 40 may be arranged between a front end portion121 of the grip housing 12 and a rear end portion 211 of the motorhousing 21. This intermediation rubber 40 may be formed of a resinrubber exhibiting elastic restorability and corresponds to an elasticmember according to the present disclosure. This intermediation rubber40 may be arranged over the entire circumference of the front endportion 121 of the grip housing 12. This intermediation rubber 40 isarranged so as to connect the front end portion 121 of the grip housing12 and the rear end portion 211 of the motor housing 21. The front endportion 121 of the grip housing 12 corresponds to the front side portionof the grip housing of the present disclosure. The rear end portion 211of the motor housing 21 corresponds to the rear side portion of themotor housing of the present disclosure.

Also in the case where the reciprocating saw 10F is configured as inthis second embodiment, regarding the portions formed substantially thesame way as in the reciprocating saw 10 of the first embodiment, it ispossible to achieve substantially the same operations and effects.Further, in this reciprocating saw 10F, the grip housing 12 is providedwith two battery attachment portions 60F (60Fa and 60Fb) to which therechargeable batteries 80 (80 a and 80 b) can be attached, so that thetwo rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b can be respectively attached tothe two battery attachment portions 60Fa and 60Fb. As a result, it ispossible to increase the weight of the grip housing 12 having the handleportion 13, so that the vibrations generated by the reciprocation of theoutput shaft 50 are inhibited so as not to be easily transmitted to thehandle portion 13. Thus, the reciprocating saw 10F is reduced invibrations and improved in terms of the feeling of use for the user.

Further, in this reciprocating saw 10F the intermediation rubber 40 isarranged between the front end portion 121 of the grip housing 12 andthe rear end portion 211 of the motor housing 21 to which the front endportion 121 of the grip housing 12 is connected. Therefore, if thevibrations generated by the reciprocating motion of the output shaft 50are transmitted to the handle portion 13, it is necessary that thevibrations are transmitted via the intermediation rubber 40. Here, theintermediation rubber 40 has the function of buffering the vibrationstransmitted to the handle portion 13. Thus, the reciprocating saw 10F isreduced in vibrations and improved in terms of the feeling of use forthe user. Further, in this reciprocating saw 10F, the lower surfaces 800a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b are withinthe same plane, thus defining common lower surfaces 800 c within thesame plane. Therefore, it is possible to place the reciprocating saw10F, with the common lower surfaces 800 c facing the placing surface.

Eighth Embodiment

Next, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Areciprocating saw 10H of the eighth embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10F of the above-described seventh embodiment only inthe arrangement construction of the battery attachment portions 60.Thus, regarding the reciprocating saw 10H of the eighth embodimentdescribed below, only the arrangement construction different from thebattery attachment portions 60 of the reciprocating saw 10F of theseventh embodiment will be described; portions of the same constructionas those of the seventh embodiment are labeled with the same referencenumerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The reciprocating saw 10H of the eighth embodiment may be constructed asshown in FIGS. 46 through 51.

The reciprocating saw 10H of the eighth embodiment differs from thereciprocating saw 10F of the seventh embodiment in the attachmentdirections of the rechargeable batteries 80 with respect to the batteryattachment portions 60H. In the eighth embodiment, the attachmentdirections of the rechargeable batteries 80 with respect to the batteryattachment portions 60H are set to the width direction of a tool mainbody 100H. That is, the attachment directions of the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b with respect to the two battery attachmentportions 60Ha and 60Hb are set to the width direction (the right-leftdirection) of the tool main body 100H, i.e., a direction crossing thereciprocating direction (the front-rear direction) of the output shaft50, and crossing the direction in which the grip housing 12 extends (theup-down direction).

As in the case of the battery attachment portions 60H of the eighthembodiment, similar to the battery attachment portions 60F of theseventh embodiment described above, the two battery attachment portions60Ha and 60Hb are arranged at the lower connection portion 15 of thegrip housing 12. Further, the two battery attachment portions 60Ha and60Hb are arranged across the vertical center plane extending in thefront-rear direction of the tool main body 100H. Further, regarding thedirection in which the grip housing of the reciprocating saw of thepresent disclosure extends, a direction orthogonal to the reciprocatingdirection (the front-rear direction) of the output shaft 50 of thereciprocating saw 10H is included; additionally, a direction set obliqueto the reciprocating direction (the front-rear direction) of the outputshaft 50 of a reciprocating saw 10G shown in FIG. 52 is included. Here,the width direction of the tool main body is set as a directionextending along the right-left direction crossing the front-reardirection.

For the two battery attachment portions 60Ha and 60Hb of the eighthembodiment, the attachment directions of the two rechargeable batteries80 a and 80 b are the same direction. More specifically, openings of thetwo battery attachment portions 60Ha and 60Hb to which the batteries areattached through sliding are set to be directed to the left and parallelto each other. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 46 and 47, the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b are attached to the two battery attachmentportions 60Ha and 60Hb through sliding from the left-hand side to theright-hand side.

The rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b thus attached to the batteryattachment portions 60Ha and 60Hb through sliding are arranged inparallel as shown in the drawings. Therefore, the lower surfaces 800 aand 800 b extend side by side in a direction in conformity with thefront-rear direction of the tool main body 100H. That is, the positionsof the two battery attachment portions 60Ha and 60Hb are set such thatthe lower surfaces 800 a and 800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80a and 80 b attached to the two battery attachment portions 60Ha and 60Hbthrough sliding are also within the same plane as in the seventhembodiment described above. As a result, the lower surfaces 800 a and800 b of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b define the commonlower surfaces 800 c that are within the same plane.

As shown in FIGS. 49 and 51, intermediation rubbers 40H may be arrangedbetween a front end portion 121H of the grip housing 12 and a rear endportion 211H of the motor housing 21. Also these intermediation rubbers40H are formed of a resin rubber exhibiting elastic restorability as inthe seventh embodiment described above, and correspond to the elasticmember of the present disclosure. These intermediation rubbers 40H arearranged at the upper and lower positions of the interior of the griphousing 12 so as to fill the spaces formed between the front end portion121H of the grip housing 12 on the outer circumferential side and therear end portion 211H of the motor housing 21 on the innercircumferential side.

The front end portion 121H of the grip housing 12 corresponds to thefront side portion of the grip housing according to the presentdisclosure. The rear end portion 211H of the motor housing 21corresponds to the rear side portion of the motor housing according tothe present disclosure. The lower connection portion 15 positioned atthe lower portion of the grip housing 12 accommodates a controller 20H.This controller 21H controls the electric power supplied to the electricmotor 22. Further, the lower connection portion 15 of the grip housing12 near the controller 20H is provided with air inlet holes 29H throughwhich air is drawn inwardly from the exterior. In the drawings,reference numeral 30H denotes air discharge openings for discharging airto the exterior. The lower connection portion 15 may be configured as amolded product that is integral with the grip housing 12 as in theexamples shown in the drawings; or it may be a separate molded productfrom the grip housing 12.

Also in the case where the reciprocating saw 10H is configured as in theeighth embodiment, regarding the portions formed in the same way as inthe case of the reciprocating saws 10 and 10F according to the first andseventh embodiments, it is possible to achieve substantially the sameoperations and effects. For example, in the case of the reciprocatingsaw 10H, the battery attachment portions 60Ha and 60Hb are arranged atthe lower portion of the grip housing 12, so that it is possible toincrease the weight of the grip housing 12 having the handle portion 13as compared with the known art. As a result, in the case that vibrationsare transmitted from the gear housing 41 side to the handle portion 13side, the vibrations of the grip housing 12 caused by the transmissionof the vibrations can be suppressed by the weight of the grip housing12. That is, the reciprocating saw 10H is reduced in vibrations andimproved in terms of the feeling of use for the user.

In particular, in the case where a spring member (elastic member) isarranged between the gear housing 41 and the handle portion 13, it ispossible to set the spring constant of the spring member to relativelyhigh by increasing the weight of the grip housing 12. This helps tobring the handle portion 13 and the gear housing 41 into the state ofbeing integrated with each other, making it possible to enhance the easeof handling (the feeling of use) of the reciprocating saw 10H. Since thevibrations generated through the reciprocation of the output 50 aretransmitted to the handle portion 13 via the intermediation rubber 40H,it is possible to buffer the vibrations transmitted to the handleportion 13 by the elasticity of the intermediation rubber 40. Thus, thereciprocating saw 10H is reduced in vibrations and improved in terms ofthe feeling of use for the user.

In this reciprocating saw 10H, the rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 bare attached in the right-left direction (width direction) of the toolmain body 100H, so that it is possible to arrange the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b side by side in the direction in which the toolmain body 100H extends (front-rear direction). As shown in the drawings,the tool main body 100H is configured so as to extend in the front-reardirection, which is the reciprocating direction of the output shaft 50.Therefore, the side-by-side arrangement of the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b can suppress the bulkiness in the right-leftdirection (width direction) of the reciprocating saw 10H, making iteasier to perform a cutting operation in a narrow space and to maintainthe maneuverability of the tool.

Further, because the attachment directions of the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b cross the vibrating direction of the tool mainbody 100H, it is possible to enhance the effect of preventing detachmentof the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b after attachment.Further, in this reciprocating saw 10H, both the two rechargeablebatteries 80 are attached in the same direction, i.e., from theleft-hand side to the right-hand side, so that it is possible to attachthe two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b at once in one direction.Conversely, because both the two rechargeable batteries 80 are detachedin the same direction, i.e., from the right-hand side to the left-handside, it is possible to detach the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and80 b at once in one direction. Therefore, the operation for attaching ordetaching the two rechargeable batteries can be easily performed toprovide convenience.

The attaching directions of the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 bmay be set to directions that are opposite to the directions in thisembodiment and that are those from the right-hand side to the left-handside; or they may be set to directions opposite to each other. Further,in this reciprocating saw 10H, the two rechargeable batteries 80 a and80 b attached to the two battery attachment portions 60Ha and 60Hb arearranged so as to be astride the center line extending in the front-reardirection of the tool main body 100H. As a result, it is possible forthe weight of the rechargeable batteries 80 attached to the batteryattachment portions 60H to be well-balanced in the right-left directionof the tool main body 100H, making it possible to maintain themaneuverability of the tool.

The cutting tool according to the present disclosure may not be limitedto the reciprocating saw described above. That is, the cutting toolaccording to the present disclosure may include the above embodiments ofthe cutting tools with appropriate modifications as long as they arehand-held type cutting tools used for cutting operation while held byhand. Further, the constructions for the slide attachment of the firstand second rechargeable batteries in the above embodiments may not belimited for attachment in the direction as shown in the drawings; theymay be set for directions opposite to the directions shown in thedrawings; further, they may be set for any of combinations in directionsincluding directions that are the same and directions opposite to eachother.

The intermediation rubber 40 of the above embodiment is arranged overthe entire circumference of the front end portion 121 of the griphousing 12. However, the elastic member according to the presentdisclosure may not be limited to this embodiment, and may be thatarranged at at least a portion of the space between the front sideportion of the grip housing and the rear side portion of the motorhousing to which the front side portion of the grip housing isconnected. Further, the cutting tool of the present invention may not belimited to such types of reciprocating saws as the reciprocating saws 10through 10F of the above-described embodiments; the present inventionmay be applied to the reciprocating saw 10G of the type as shown in FIG.52. In the drawing, the portions of the same functions as theabove-described embodiments are labeled with the same referencenumerals.

The rechargeable batteries 80 a and 80 b of the above-describedembodiments are set to have a voltage of 18 V. However, the voltage ofthe rechargeable batteries according to the present disclosure may notbe limited to this voltage; it is also possible to utilize rechargeablebatteries (secondary batteries) designed for appropriate voltages suchas 10 V and 14 V. The electric power supplied from the two rechargeablebatteries 80 a and 80 b may be used not only for increasing the voltagebut also for increasing the supply capacitance (total rechargingamount). That is, the present disclosure may not be limited to aconstruction for increasing the voltage of the electric power suppliedfrom the rechargeable batteries 80; it may be suitably constructed toincrease the supply capacitance of the electric power supplied from therechargeable batteries 80.

1. A cutting tool comprising: a tool main body including: an outputshaft configured to be capable of mounting a cutting blade thereto,wherein the output shaft protrudes from a front end of the tool mainbody; an electric motor configured to rotatably drive a motor shaft witha supply of power from a rechargeable battery, a reciprocationconverting mechanism configured to convert the rotation of the motorshaft to a reciprocating motion of the output shaft, so that the cuttingblade mounted to the output shaft cuts a workpiece as the output shaftreciprocates; wherein the tool main body includes a rear portion thatconnects with a loop-shaped grip housing including a loop-shaped handleportion to be grasped by hand; wherein the grip housing includes a lowerconnection portion that connects a lower portion of the handle portionto the rear portion of the tool main body; two battery attachmentsportions disposed at the lower connection portion of the grip housing;wherein each of the two battery attachment portions is configured as aslide-attaching type attachment portion to allow attachment of aslide-type rechargeable battery through sliding; wherein the two batteryattachment portions are arranged on opposite sides with respect to acentral plane of the tool main body, the central plane including a planewithin which the cutting blade reciprocates; and wherein an attachingdirection of the rechargeable battery to each of the two batteryattachment portions is set in a direction from a front side to a rearside along the central plane of the tool main body.
 2. The cutting toolaccording to claim 1, wherein the lower connecting portion of the gripportion including the two battery attachment portions is disposed on alower side of both of the motor shaft and the output shaft.
 3. Thecutting tool according to claim 1, wherein: each of the two batteryattachment portions is configured such that the battery is attached asthe battery is slid in a direction parallel to the output shaft or themotor shaft.
 4. The cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein: the griphousing further comprises an upper connection portion that protrudesforward from an upper portion of the handle portion; and the upperconnection portion is connected to a motor housing of the tool mainbody, the motor housing supporting the electric motor.
 5. The cuttingtool according to claim 1, further comprising a controller configured tocontrol an electric power supplied to the electric motor, wherein thecontroller is disposed within the grip housing.
 6. The cutting toolaccording to claim 1, wherein an air inlet hole is formed in the griphousing for introducing a cooling air for the electric motor.
 7. Acutting tool comprising: a tool main body including: an output shaftconfigured to be capable of mounting a cutting blade there to, whereinthe output shaft protrudes from a front end of the tool main body; anelectric motor configured to rotatably drive a motor shaft with a supplyof power from a rechargeable battery, a reciprocation convertingmechanism configured to convert the rotation of the motor shaft to areciprocating motion of the output shaft in a front-to-rear direction,so that the cutting blade mounted to the output shaft cuts a workpieceas the output shaft reciprocates; and a housing forming an outer casingof the tool main body and including two battery attachment portions eachallowing attachment of the rechargeable battery; wherein the housingcomprises: a motor housing configured to support the electric motor; anda grip housing disposed on a rear side of the motor housing andincluding a handle portion to be grasped by hand; wherein at least onebattery attachment portion of the two battery attachment portions isarranged at the motor housing.
 8. The cutting tool according to claim 7,wherein: the two battery attachment portions comprise a first attachmentportion disposed at the motor housing and a second attachment portiondisposed at the grip housing.
 9. The cutting tool according to claim 8,wherein: the first attachment portion is disposed at a lower portion ofthe motor housing; and the second attachment portion is disposed at alower portion of the grip housing.
 10. The cutting tool according toclaim 8, wherein: the grip housing has a loop-shape and includes a lowerconnection portion and an upper connection portion; the lower connectionportion connects a lower portion of the handle portion to the rearportion of the motor housing; and the upper connection portion protrudesforward from an upper portion of the handle portion so as to beconnected to the motor housing.
 11. The cutting tool according to claim9, wherein; at least the first battery attachment portion of the firstand second battery attachment portions is configured such that thecorresponding battery is attached to at least the first batteryattachment portion as the battery is slid in a direction parallel to theoutput shaft.
 12. The cutting tool according to claim 9, furthercomprising a controller configured to control an electric power suppliedto the electric motor, wherein the controller is disposed within thegrip housing.
 13. The cutting tool according to claim 9, wherein an airinlet hole is formed in the grip housing for introducing a cooling airfor the electric motor.
 14. A cutting tool comprising: a tool main bodyincluding: an output shaft configured to be capable of mounting acutting blade there to, wherein the output shaft protrudes from a frontend of the tool main body; an electric motor configured to rotatablydrive a motor shaft with a supply of power from a rechargeable battery,a reciprocation converting mechanism configured to convert the rotationof the motor shaft to a reciprocating motion of the output shaft, sothat the cutting blade mounted to the output shaft cuts a workpiece asthe output shaft reciprocates; and a housing forming an outer casing ofthe tool main body and including at least one battery attachment portionallowing attachment of the rechargeable battery; wherein an arrangementposition of the at least one battery attachment portion is set to aposition opposite to a position of a center of gravity of the tool mainbody with the rechargeable battery detached therefrom, with respect to areciprocating axis along which the output shaft reciprocates.
 15. Thecutting tool according to claim 14, wherein: the center of gravity ofthe tool main body is located on a lower side of the reciprocating axis;and the at least one battery attachment portion is located on an upperside of the reciprocating axis.
 16. The cutting tool according to claim15, wherein: the at least one battery attachment portion comprises afirst battery attachment portion and a second battery attachmentportion; and the second battery attachment portion is disposed on a rearside of the first battery attachment portion.
 17. The cutting toolaccording to claim 16, wherein: the housing comprises a motor housingand a grip housing; the motor housing is configured to support theelectric motor; the grip housing is disposed on a rear side of the motorhousing and includes a handle portion to be grasped by hand; the firstbattery attachment portion is disposed at an upper portion of the motorhousing; and the second attachment portion is disposed at an upperportion of the grip housing.
 18. The cutting tool according to claim 17,wherein: each of the first and second battery attachment portions isconfigured such that a corresponding battery is mounted as thecorresponding battery is slid in a direction parallel to the outputshaft.
 19. The cutting tool according to claim 17, wherein: the griphousing has a loop-shape and includes a lower connection portion and anupper connection portion; the lower connection portion connects a lowerportion of the handle portion to a rear portion of the motor housing;and the upper connection portion protrudes forward from an upper portionof the handle portion so as to be connected to the motor housing. 20.The cutting tool according to claim 17, further comprising a controllerconfigured to control an electric power supplied to the electric motor,wherein the controller is disposed within the grip housing.
 21. Thecutting tool according to claim 17, wherein an air inlet hole is formedin the grip housing for introducing a cooling air for the electricmotor.